The Theological Task

 A sentence from John Webster that deserves some unpacking:

The primary theological task... is the dedication of intelligence to devout indication and description of Christian verities, whose goodness, once known and loved, dispels anxiety and draws both intellect and affections to satisfaction.

This is from God Without Measure Vol 1, page 100.  In the immediate context, Webster is discussing the doctrine of creation, but the description of the theological task seems to be more generally applicable.  I wanted to try to expand some of the phrases.

The primary theological task...

That immediately indicates that there are also subsidiary or secondary aspects to theology.  Webster mentions polemics and elenctics, both of which might be generally classed as apologetics.  We might add ethics, liturgics, and other branches of theological knowledge.  All these things are important.  They are all part of the theologians job description.  But they are not primary, and they won't be done well if they are allowed to take the primary position.  The primary task is not argumentative but descriptive.

...is the dedication of intelligence...

The theological task is an intellectual endeavour.  In my experience the church does not like this fact.  Intellectual tasks feel elitist.  People like the (biblical!) idea that the gospel is simple enough for anyone; they are less keen on the (biblical!) idea that there are depths in the gospel to stretch the brightest mind.  Theology doesn't always help itself.  It is easy to turn this intellectual endeavour into intellectualism, with accompanying intellectual arrogance.  But it doesn't have to be this way.  Intellectual endeavour is to be in the service of the church.

...to devout indication and description of Christian verities...

The subject and method of theology are dealt with here.  Theology is about Christian verities, the truths which are given in revelation, and the primary job is to indicate and describe these verities.  Because they are objective truths - things that are really real - the first job is simply to point toward them.  This is true of the metaphysical and the historical realities upon which the faith depends.  Theology ought to be very obviously not spinning theories but drawing attention to realities.  A second aspect to this is to describe these realities.  The key thing here is objectivity.  Theology is tied to reality, and therefore it can only follow reality.

...devout...

Just to highlight that one word.  Theology is an intellectual task, but it is also a task to be undertaken with devotion and worship.  This is not just an ideal; it is of the essence of the theological endeavour.  One cannot think right thoughts about God unless one's heart is humbly inclined to worship.

...whose goodness, once known and loved...

The description of Christian truth includes, necessarily, the display of the goodness of this truth.  This is not, or at least not yet, apologetics.  It is not necessarily conscious effort to persuade people to love the truths of the Christian faith.  It is just recognising that unless the goodness and beauty of these truths has been shown, the description of them is not yet complete.  God is goodness and beauty.  You cannot rightly indicate or describe anything about him without describing it in its goodness.

...dispels anxiety and draws both intellect and affections to satisfaction.

Theology seeks to satisfy the mind and the heart, and its task is not complete until the realities which it describes and indicates have taken root and brought out the fruit of delight.  Again, this flows from the subject matter: God is the eternal fountain of goodness and love.  Such a fountain is not accurately described without conveying something of that goodness and love.  Theology can provide genuine satisfaction, not in itself as a description, but insofar as it genuinely points to the source of satisfaction.  Webster's point about dispelling anxiety is important here.  Far too much theology, particularly in this age of cultural pressure on Christian faith, is undertaken from an anxious or defensive stance - it is, in a sense, already apologetics.  The primary task of theology, though, is to be undertaken with a calm attention to the subject matter which rules out anxiety.